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Dockside friendship between woman, sunfish reaches nine years
“Greenie” the sunfish waits by the dock for Holly Jorgensen, swims with her and jumps out of the water for treats.
MINNESOTA, USA — Editor’s note: This story originally aired Sept. 6, 2020.
This spring, just after ice out, Greenie the sunfish once again returned to Holly’s dock. This marks the ninth summer Holly and Greenie will spend together.
Holly is currently writing a book about their adventures. She’s titled it, “Greenie & the Girl: an Enchanted Fish Memoir for all Generations.” For more information, here’s a link to Hollie’s blog.
Most Minnesota encounters with sunfish come at the end of line.
Holly Jorgensen has encounters of another kind.
“Digging for worms for a treat for Greenie,” Holly says as she scoops up soil with her shovel.
Clasping in her hand a wiggly bowl, Holly walks onto a wobbly wooden dock while scanning the lake around her.
“There he is,” she says.
A sunfish looks up at Holly from a few inches under the water.
“Hi, sweetie,” Holly says, greeting Greenie. As much as a fish can show emotion, the sunny seems pleased to see her.
Holly puts her hands into the water. Other fish dart away. Greenie comes closer.
“Hi, honey,” Holly says to Greenie.
Holly wasn’t looking for a pal when she first locked eyes with the green sunfish just off her dock.
“But he looked at me like I’ve never had a fish look at me,” she says.
From fish eyes, grew a fast friendship.
Holly holds out one of the newly harvested worms.
“Can you jump?” she asks Greenie.
Moments later, he complies, coming up from the deep to jump for Holly’s treat.
“He sure does seem like a special fish,” Holly says. “He just acts different from other fish.”
Even before Holly began serving snacks, Greenie would be waiting at the dock when she arrived for her daily swims.
“Why he in particular recognizes me and looks at me the way he does and follows me around, I don’t know. But it’s wonderful,” Holly says.
Each spring, Holly waits for ice out. For five straight years, Greenie has been back at the dock when open water returns.
“And I go, ‘Wow, he made it through another winter,’” Holly says.
Greenie isn’t alone in the lake. A smaller sunfish Holly named Spot used to tag along with Greenie. Then, a bass named Slim became a frequent Greenie cohort.
But only Greenie seems to enjoy the chin rubs Holly regularly administers.
Greenie is large by sunfish standards, large enough the fill a medium-sized frying pan. For obvious reasons, Holly asked that we not divulge the location of her lake.
“Actually,” she says, “last Friday night, he showed up and he had a hook in his mouth, and my heart just sank.”
Holly held Greenie in her hands as she gently pushed on the hook.
“And I just very, very carefully backed it out and put him back in the water,” Holly says. “And then we were both relieved.”
When Holly swims to the other side of the lake, Greenie has been known to tag along.
Often, she lingers in the water, shoulders-deep, near the dock, as Greenie swims around her.
“People complain about no entertainment, no movies, no bars, no restaurants — I could care less,” Holly says. “I’ve got this.”
So enamored is Holly, she wrote Greenie a poem.
“To have a friend who’s not like me is to swim in the sky and fly in the sea,” Holly recites.
She titled the poem, “Diversity.”
“It’s entering someone else’s world,” she says.
For many Minnesotans, sunfish remain a nice catch.
But in the most stressful of years, Greenie gives Holly Jorgenson her release.
“You’re the boss, aren’t you?” Holly tells Greenie as she looks down from the dock into the lake. “You’re the boss.”
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Larry Raasch volunteered at the department for 25 years.
WEST ST PAUL, Minn. — The West St. Paul Police Department has lost one of its most decorated servants.
Larry Raasch volunteered as a reserve officer for 25 years, logging more than 4,000 hours.
“He really cared about this department and this community,” said West St. Paul Police Chief Brian Sturgeon.
Raasch volunteered at least eight hours a week at the West St. Paul Police station. Before he started helping out there, he was a reserve for the St. Paul Police Department. In total, he’s spent more than 50 years volunteering at police departments.
“He loved this community that’s what it was, he loved the community, he loved the department, he loved the city, he loved his neighbors, he loved the business owners in town, and he just wanted to give back. That’s why he was doing what’s he doing,” Sturgeon said.
Raasch’s daughter Lisa McDermott said her father lived to serve the community. He would drive people around town if they needed a ride and would help anyone who needed it. His life has been dedicated to service. She said her father is a Vietnam Veteran. He was stationed in Munich, Germany as a medic.
Captain of the reserves Mike Whebbe said he was dedicated to serving his community. He’s worked alongside Raasch for decades.
Raasch was one of the police department’s 15 reserves. Sturgeon said they assist sworn officers and departments, attend community events, help with prisoner transport, and traffic control. Sturgeon said the reserves help the department immensely and have save them a lot of money.
“Over the course of the 25 years, it’s close to $1 million,” he said.
Sturgeon said two years, he received the President’s Volunteer Service Lifetime Achievement award.
“He dedicated over 4,000 hours. I’m sure it was a lot more than that,” Sturgeon said.
He said Raasch was one of the oldest reserves, his “meticulous” nature earned him a spot helping out in the property room as a volunteer evidence tech.
“His age didn’t keep him down though. He was always available to us whenever we needed it. We were very appreciative of his dedication to this community,” he said. “He just wanted to be a part of this organization. He wanted to be a part of this city and being a reserve was one way he could be a part of this organization and this community.”
Sturgeon said he’ll miss hearing Raasch say “hi, good morning, good afternoon, how are you doing,” when he would walk into the department. He said no one will ever be able to fill his shoes.
“Larry was a character, he was a one-of-a-kind,” Sturgeon said. “We’ve all learned a lot from him, especially the reserves. I mean like I said he coached and mentored the younger reserves.”
He said it’s going to be hard without him. Sturgeon said Raasch was the embodiment of an outstanding community member, who made West St. Paul a safer and brighter place.
“He’s one of a kind that’s for sure and he’s going to be greatly missed,” Sturgeon said.
Larry Raasch volunteered at the department for 25 years.
WEST ST PAUL, Minn. — The West St. Paul Police Department has lost one of its most decorated servants.
Larry Raasch volunteered as a reserve officer for 25 years, logging more than 4,000 hours.
“He really cared about this department and this community,” said West St. Paul Police Chief Brian Sturgeon.
Raasch volunteered at least eight hours a week at the West St. Paul Police station. Before he started helping out there, he was a reserve for the St. Paul Police Department. In total, he’s spent more than 50 years volunteering at police departments.
“He loved this community that’s what it was, he loved the community, he loved the department, he loved the city, he loved his neighbors, he loved the business owners in town, and he just wanted to give back. That’s why he was doing what’s he doing,” Sturgeon said.
Raasch’s daughter Lisa McDermott said her father lived to serve the community. He would drive people around town if they needed a ride and would help anyone who needed it. His life has been dedicated to service. She said her father is a Vietnam Veteran. He was stationed in Munich, Germany as a medic.
Captain of the reserves Mike Whebbe said he was dedicated to serving his community. He’s worked alongside Raasch for decades.
Raasch was one of the police department’s 15 reserves. Sturgeon said they assist sworn officers and departments, attend community events, help with prisoner transport, and traffic control. Sturgeon said the reserves help the department immensely and have save them a lot of money.
“Over the course of the 25 years, it’s close to $1 million,” he said.
Sturgeon said two years, he received the President’s Volunteer Service Lifetime Achievement award.
“He dedicated over 4,000 hours. I’m sure it was a lot more than that,” Sturgeon said.
He said Raasch was one of the oldest reserves, his “meticulous” nature earned him a spot helping out in the property room as a volunteer evidence tech.
“His age didn’t keep him down though. He was always available to us whenever we needed it. We were very appreciative of his dedication to this community,” he said. “He just wanted to be a part of this organization. He wanted to be a part of this city and being a reserve was one way he could be a part of this organization and this community.”
Sturgeon said he’ll miss hearing Raasch say “hi, good morning, good afternoon, how are you doing,” when he would walk into the department. He said no one will ever be able to fill his shoes.
“Larry was a character, he was a one-of-a-kind,” Sturgeon said. “We’ve all learned a lot from him, especially the reserves. I mean like I said he coached and mentored the younger reserves.”
He said it’s going to be hard without him. Sturgeon said Raasch was the embodiment of an outstanding community member, who made West St. Paul a safer and brighter place.
“He’s one of a kind that’s for sure and he’s going to be greatly missed,” Sturgeon said.
The three finalists are visiting the school district this week with a decision expected to be made on either Wednesday or Thursday night.
ST PAUL, Minn. — Minnesota’s second-largest school district will soon have a new superintendent.
Saint Paul Public Schools (SPPS) is hosting the three finalists this week.
Each day, a new candidate is visiting the district for a full day. On Monday, Dr. Rhoda Mhiripiri-Reed took part in school visits, virtual sessions and a public interview.
Mhiripiri-Reed has been the superintendent of Hopkins Public Schools since 2017, serving 6,900 students and more than 1,000 staff. She started her career as a teacher at SPPS.
Dr. Brenda Cassellius also started her career as an SPPS teacher. Cassellius will be visiting the district on Tuesday.
Cassellius previously served as superintendent of Boston Public Schools, serving 50,000 students and more than 10,000 staff. She also served eight years as the Minnesota State Commissioner of Education. Cassellius is currently the CEO of the nonprofit Fresh Energy.
On Wednesday, the final candidate is Dr. Stacie Stanley. She’s currently the superintendent of Edina Public Schools, serving 8,600 students and more than 1,300 staff. Stanley previously served as an associate superintendent at Eden Prairie Schools.
You can read all three full bios, here.
In the end of February, former SPPS Superintendent Dr. Joe Gothard was selected as the next leader of the Madison Metropolitan School District in Wisconsin. Dr. John Thein has been serving as interim superintendent during the search.
The SPPS Board of Education did a round of community engagement where they received more than 3,000 responses from the community on what they’re looking for in the next superintendent.
“It’s really not so much about what one individual board member is looking for. It’s going to be a really open and collaborative process by which all seven board members are trying to figure out how each of these candidates would approach trying to meet the concerns that were raised by the community whenever we did that engagement,” said Uriah Ward, school board vice chair.
Each finalist’s schedule this week includes visiting schools, three virtual “Meet the Candidate” sessions with staff, parents and guardians, and community partners. The day ends with a public interview at the SPPS administration building (360 S. Colborne St.) from 6-7:30 p.m.
All are welcome to attend or watch the livestream.
“We want people to remain part of the process until the very end. So please, if you are watching the sessions, if you are reading the materials, please fill out an impression form. Because we are reading them and we do take that really seriously,” Ward said.
This past summer, the school board approved more than $110 million in budget cuts for this school year. The cuts come after federal funds from the pandemic expired. While SPPS enrollment is slightly up this year, overall, in the past decade, it has shrunk.
“Whoever’s coming in is coming into what I think is a really amazing school district where we have a lot of really exciting things to offer. But it’s also a really difficult environment where districts across the country are dealing with declining enrollment, where they’re having to face what seem like an endless stream of budget cuts,” Ward said. “We want to make sure that we’re bringing someone in who is going to be able to handle what can be a difficult situation but also work with us into moving us in a positive direction where we can… hopefully continue to grow our district.”
After the final interview on Wednesday, the board will deliberate in a public meeting. If they cannot decide that night, they will continue conversations at Thursday’s regular school board meeting and announce the preferred candidate then.
The board will approve the new superintendent’s contract and start date in January.
You can learn more about the search process, here.
